


We're Going, We're Gone

by ballpoint



Category: Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Angst, Community: fic_promptly, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-12
Updated: 2010-09-12
Packaged: 2017-10-11 16:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/114444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballpoint/pseuds/ballpoint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate gets an offer from a college on the West Coast, and she decides to accept it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're Going, We're Gone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Muccamukk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muccamukk/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Characters and trademarks are the property of Stan Lee and Marvel Comics

The news came for Kate, while they were having dinner at their HQ.

"Hey, Kate, a letter for ya. Found it pushed through the slot," Tommy said, striking it against the tips of his fingers. In a swift move, Kate pushed herself from the table, and swiped it from Tommy's grasp. Not that she suddenly acquired super speed or became a mutant at eighteen. It might have been the fact that Tommy saw that look on her face; half desperate, half expectant, and Eli crunched on his cornflakes.

"Thank you, Tommy," a cool nod in his direction, before she held up the letter, the tremor in her fingers slight, but there. Eli's curiosity now piqued, he put his spoon down, and swallowed the half chewed food, knowing from experience that he might spit it out either from surprise or indignation.

"A letter?" Billy asked, half distracted by playing thumb war with Teddy.

"One, two, three, four, let's start a thumb war- hey, Billy?"

"Kate got a letter," Cassie said helpfully, before jumping up to stand by Kate. "It might be the lottery."

"Aren't billionaire heiresses automatically disqualified from getting you know, more money?"

"[Surprisingly, as much as Kate might be rich on paper, she can be considered cash poor, in that if she decided to withdraw her fortune, it would have serious ramifications re: the Dow Jones.]"

"Whoa," Teddy paused, taking in the paradox of Jonas' comment, his thumb still in midair, only for Billy to seize the moment to press it against the top of his knuckles. "Hey, you cheated!"

"Caught you napping," Billy chuckled.

"Two out of three."

"Guys," Kate shook her head, as she placed her fingernail under the envelope flap and tore it open. "It's not that, and really? Talk of my possible inheritance is tacky and _oh_," she exclaimed softly, as she blinked rapidly. "I got in."

"Got in? Got in what?" Eli asked, his stomach suddenly a tight nexus of knots, because he had an inkling.

"I've been accepted to Stanford."

"_California_ Stanford?"

"My mom's alma mater, Stanford."

At this announcement, the entire room became still. Eli himself too dumbstruck to speak at this moment. He could only look at Kate, standing in the middle of the room, dressed in a snug t-shirt with the Mickey Mouse logo on the front, and jeans faded to white at stress points. Her eyes were bright, and Eli knew right then, she'd leave.

"Congratulations, Kate," he said, each step towards her suddenly taking great precedence in his mind, a countdown to the fact that he wouldn't be able to cross this floor towards her any more. In this kitchen with everyone watching them both, as he swung her into a hug and whooped, because you could only be happy for the people you loved when it came to the choices they made. "Our baby is Stanford bound."

"Don't call me _baby_," Kate said, and Eli pretended that he didn't feel her tears on his cheeks, before she threw her head back, stretched her arms and did a triumphant scream in the middle of the room.

oOo

As soon as she possibly could, after warm hugs from Billy and Teddy and Cassie, a warm handshake of congratulations from Jonas and a lingering kiss on her cheek from Tommy, Kate escaped from their clutches and stumbled to the rooftop of the building, and allowed herself to read the letter again, her heart full as she absorbed what it _meant_ before folding it and tucking it into the pocket of her jeans.

At the sound of steps, Kate wiped her tears away with the heels of her hands. Even though it wasn't quieter here - because in a city like New York, it was never quiet, it seemed a sight better than being in the kitchen, with everyone so there.

Despite the fact that Kate tended to be hyperaware of her surroundings; the weight of air, the variance of darkness, her teammates tended to make noises so as not to catch her off guard. They learned this lesson when Teddy got a punch in his nose for his trouble by placing his hands over her eyes for a surprise.

"Stanford," Eli said. As well as, "when?"

"When I applied to NYU, and other places. My dad said to keep my options open. My mother-" Kate cleared her throat before her voice could thicken any further. "My - she was from the West Coast. One of those social families from San Francisco," she lifted her chin. Eli dropped to his knees beside her, his earring glinting in the low lighting. He smelled of soap and sugared milk. A strange yet comforting mix.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she came East for a job at Conde Nast, met my dad, and that was all they wrote. But she loved New York, appreciated the busy prissiness she'd call it, and never went back."

"But she loved Stanford."

"She said it made her into the woman she was," Kate drew her legs towards her torso, as she wiped her eyes. "I want to be the woman she was."

Eli stroked her cheek, his eyes sober and his face open as he said, "I like the woman you are."

Kate felt her eyes and nose burn, and she rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand.

"Eli, don't," she sniffled wetly. "Just don't. Don't say -"

"Kate," he adjusted his limbs so he sat beside her, near enough for her to lean into his bulk and heat. "We can make this work, if you want. Or not."

"You won't ask me to stay?"

Eli leaned his forehead against hers, his hands warm and on her cheeks. He couldn't, not even if he wanted to. It was his grandpa's legacy that drove him into choosing this path in the first place, and Kate felt the draw of her own. "You'd hate us if we did, and we'd hate it if you were unhappy. Go find what made your mom, your mom, Kate. We'll be here when you get back."

Oh, that did it, as Kate felt the weight on her heart shatter, and she covered her face with her hands, wiping her face with the sleeves of her cardigan. Eli stayed there, patting her denim clad thigh.

"I hate you so much, Eli. I hate you for making me cry."

"I love you so much, Kate. Although you hate hearing it."

"I - don't," Kate shook her head, as she wiped her nose, trying to gather her composure around her like a cloak. She actually just feared it, because that sort of love made things clumsy and fragile, and clouded good judgement.

"When do you leave?"

"Around September," she said, feeling her nerves calm, the crying jag now past. "I have to find an apartment, and get settled in."

"You'll give your driving licence a workout. Are you getting a convertible in sporty red?"

"No, I think purple," Kate said, feeling unbent enough to grin. "And finally, I'll be able to work on my tan. It will bring out my eyes."

"No blonde, though," Eli played with the ends of her hair, and Kate leaned forward and kissed him, because doing something was easier than thinking about _anything_ at times. Awkwardly at first, as they had to shift their bodies, because her knee pressed against his stomach, and his palm skimmed from her thigh to her back, as he pulled her against him, as they tumbled against the gravel and concrete of the rooftop. For a few minutes, the kisses and touches desperate and intimate. Kate wanted to sink into the taste and feel of his skin, and think about nothing, but she was too sensible to give herself to this moment completely, and him, too accustomed to team mates bursting in at any time. They broke away from each other, breathing heavily, Kate not trusting her senses until she heard the static of traffic.

"I might possibly, sort of, kinda love you, just a little," she admitted, his taste still on her tongue, her face burning as Eli reached for his earring, unhooked it from his ear, and placed it in her hand.

"I might believe you," he said, closing her fingers around it, before stroking her wrist.

"But that feeling is in danger, because you're going to make me cry again."

"Now I believe you," Eli smiled, and Kate sat up, took out one of her diamond studs, and replaced it with his loop, and Eli mirrored her motions, replacing her stud in the piercing where his gold hoop used to be.

Kate stroked her ear, and leaned over to kiss Eli again. Whatever happened next, they had this, and for now, it was everything.


End file.
